Straight line depreciation definition including break down of areas in the definition. Analyzing the definition of key term often provides more insight about concepts. Straight line depreciation can be defined as: Method that allocates an equal portion of the depreciable cost of plant assets (cost minus salvage) to each accounting period in its useful life. Straight line depreciation is the most well kwon depreciation method, the most intuitive depreciation method, this being the reason straight line deprecation is the starting point for understanding the concept how deprecation is calculated and recorded, all other depreciation methods being compared to the straight line depreciation method. The straight line depreciation method takes the cost of fixed asset less the salvage value and then dives by the useful like. The result is an even amount of deprecation over the useful life ending with a book value equal to the salvage value.
